The Senate voted to confirm 48 nominees of President Donald Trump's choosing, breaking through a months-long Democrat blockade, as the AP reported.
Majority leader John Thune (R-SD) invoked the so-called nuclear option, saying Democrats left no alternative to changing Senate procedures. The newly confirmed picks include U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is the former fiancée of Trump's eldest son Donald Jr., and ambassador to Switzerland Callista Gingrich, the wife of Newt Gingrich.
The GOP voted to seat the 48 nominees in a single 51-47 vote. There are still dozens of lower-level Trump picks awaiting confirmation.
“Republicans have fixed a broken process,” Thune said ahead of the vote.
While the minority party usually votes to confirm at least some nominees quickly, Democrats under minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have put up unprecedented obstruction as the left-wing base pressures the party to oppose the new administration.
Schumer claims that the blockade was made necessary because Trump's picks are uniquely unqualified. But Republicans say they are restoring some normalcy after Democrats made it impossible for the Senate to function properly.
Republicans voted unanimously to change the rules, with even moderate Republicans like Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joining.
That's a sign of just how partisan the Democrats' approach truly was. “For almost eight months now, Democrats have dragged out the confirmation of every one of President Trump’s nominees,” Thune said.
“By restoring Senate precedent on confirmations, we have helped ensure that the Senate is able to fulfill all of its responsibilities.”
The new rules allow Trump -- and all future presidents - to advance unlimited lower-level nominees in groups. The changes do not apply to Cabinet picks or judges.
This is not the first time the party in power has gone "nuclear" to advance the president's nominees.
Democrat Harry Reid set the precedent during the Obama administration, paving the way for Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to lower the threshold to confirm Supreme Court nominees during Trump's first term.
Democrats, powerless to stop Trump's picks, are warning that Republicans will eventually regret their decision to weaken the minority party's power.
“This is a sad, regrettable day for the Senate,” Schumer said last week. “And I believe it won’t take very long for Republicans to wish they had not pushed the chamber further down this awful road.”
While political fortunes will eventually turn, it is hard to argue that Republicans made a mistake by ending Schumer's unprecedented blockade. Schumer did not give Republicans any other choice.
